The functional approach to reforming the financial system advocates the structural separation of the depository and lending functions of banks. As a result of such a separation, monetary and credit policy undergo a parallel separation, and government supervision and regulation of the banking...

During the 1930s, there were numerous proposals put forth to modify the financial system. The "Chicago Plan," submitted in 1933 by economists at the University of Chicago, recommended abolition of the fractional reserve system and imposition of 100% reserves on demand deposits. Despite the...

Who should regulate bank holding companies? The recent Treasury proposal to consolidate the federal banking agencies would require that the Federal Reserve give up the power to regulate bank holding companies (BHCs) that it has had since the passage of the bank Holding Company Act of 1956. The...

This paper presents a balance sheet approach to understanding the reform of the financial system to include narrow banking. It was prepared for a conference at the Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, June 23-28, 1991